Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Is This the Original Source for Hannah Sartell's Birth?

In my post Finding Hannah Sawtell's 1789 Birth Record in New Hampshire Town Clerk Records yesterday, I wondered if the "Old Book" of Brookline, New Hampshire town records was still extant.  The answer was right in front of me if I had only checked the next link.

In the list of town records for Brookline, Hillsborough County in the New Hampshire Town Clerk, Town and Vital Records, 1636-1947 there were four different collections:



In my earlier posts, I was using the "Town Records, 1758-1907" collection.  The image I found for Hannah Sartell's birth was a transcription of an earlier "Old Book" and the record for Hannah Sartell in the "Old Book" was on page 526.

I decided to check the third collection on the list above, the one titled "Town Records, 1769-1833."  The first image (of 269 images) was:



On the right-hand page of the image above is a list of birth records, including "Josiah Sartell's child's Record of Birth page 526."

I easily found page 526 (stamped) on image 266 (of 269) [I figured that it was near the back of the book!]:


There it is, the birth record of Hannah Sartell on page 526:

"Hannah Sartell the Daughter of Josiah Sartell 
and Hannah his wife Born November 6th 1789."

I believe that this is the Original Source record of Hannah Sartell's birth.  The other collection is a Derivative Source since it was a transcription.  Researchers are urged to find the Original source and use that when it can be accessed and found.  

I have modified my source citation for Hannah Sartell's birth to read:

"New Hampshire Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1636-1947," digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1987741: accessed 12 November 2012), Hillsborough County, Brookline Town, "Town Records, 1769-1833," Page 526 (stamped), Hannah Sartell birth entry, 6 November 1789 (daughter of Josiah and Hannah Sartell); citing New Hampshire Town Clerk Records.

I did not find this particular Town Record book in the Family History Library Catalog, searching for Brookline, New Hampshire Town Records, for some reason.

That's strange, because I recall that, when I searched the Brookline Town Records on microfilm US/CAN 15,354 several years ago, I saw the Brookline town tax lists, warnings out, selectmen minutes, etc. in addition to the vital records.  The vital records are all that are in the 1758-1907 digital collection;  the tax lists, warnings out, vital records, etc. are in the 1769-1833 digital collection.  I wonder if both of these digitized databases are on that one microfilm  and FamilySearch separated them into two different digitized collections?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/11/is-this-original-source-for-hannah.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

1 comment:

GeneJ said...

Couldn't be happier to find these books on line. TYTY FamilySearch.

I looked over the records for Rumney (Grafton Co.) and, like you, these did not seem records developed from films that are in the FamilySearch Catalog. This FS collection ("New Hampshire, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1636-1947") is very new; added or updated 7 Nov 2012.

Do you think these are the result of the newer field-based digitization?

I was able to locate a record that had been described to me earlier by the Rumney Clerk as being in Town Clerk's Book B: 242. By the title of the "group" in which that record was found, I couldn't tell on the face that it had come from that book.

As above, these records are really new. Here's to hoping the indexing gets the clerk's book and page number matched up on finding aid. --GeneJ